‘Shami has the hunger to make a comeback into Indian side’ — Ishan Kishan opens up on the veteran pacer’s passion 

Image: RevSportz file

Somewhere in November 2010, Sibsankar Roy and Deeraj Jadhav of Assam were frustrating Bengal at Eden Gardens with a resolute stand in the Ranji Trophy. It seemed as if the duo would take their side to safe waters. At that juncture, a debutant, Mohammed Shami, burst through the opening pair by prising them out LBW and bowled. 

Time flies. The same four seasons — summer, monsoon, autumn and winter — have taken their turns 16 times. And just like the permanence of those changing seasons, Shami’s passion has remained the same. In the semifinal of the Duleep Trophy, he took five wickets to play a part in East Zone’s victory over Central Zone. 

At the age of 36, he may not have touched his peak speeds, but he still bowled with a fair amount of venom and found nifty movement. Shami will play his 100th first-class game, when East Zone take on South Zone in the Duleep Trophy final in Chennai. Ahead of the game, He was also felicitated by CAB’s treasurer, Sanjay Das, and the rest of the East Zone teammates.

Shami, one of the stalwarts of India’s 50-over World Cup campaign in 2023, however, has mostly found himself in the wilderness since his return from a serious ankle and heel injury in 2024-25. 

Ishan Kishan, the East Zone captain, opened up on the 64-Test veteran’s unremitting belief to make a comeback into the Indian side in a pre-match presser.

“I feel age is just a number,” Kishan said. “If he is working hard it doesn’t matter – he has been doing so well. Having him in our team gives us a bit more confidence, when you have such bowlers in your team who can get you wickets and especially looking at Shami bhai this season, his intensity, his energy has been very different.

“It has been three years since that [2023] World Cup [when he was in excellent form]; it is hard when you are not regularly playing for the Indian team and to again have that same kind of motivation for your domestic games, it is tough. But I feel I see that hunger in him because who better than me can judge about hunger right now?” Kishan smiled, perhaps thinking about his own redoubtable comeback.

Kishan continued by observing how Shami is also sharing insights and helping him in relation to laying out plans and strategies in the ongoing Duleep Trophy.

“I think he has that hunger and that motivation right now. He wants to do that comeback, he wants to be part of the Indian squad again and which you can see in him, when he is trying to help me also when I’m leading the side… he is trying to come to me, give me options of what you can do right now.”

For more updates on Indian cricket, follow RevSportz 

The post ‘Shami has the hunger to make a comeback into Indian side’ — Ishan Kishan opens up on the veteran pacer’s passion  appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From scoring ton in Patna to taking on bouncers like a ‘bullet’ in Perth – Nitish’s story of perseverance

Image
Nitish Kumar Reddy during the 1st innings of the Perth Test (PC: Debasis Sen) “Grateful, an innings to remember.” Nitish Reddy had posted the aforesaid statement on his Instagram account after cracking his maiden first-class hundred, against Bihar, in Patna. It wasn’t just about Nitish scoring an unbeaten 159 for Andhra. It was also about the way he scored those runs. He essayed a few crunchy drives off Veer Pratap Singh and also showcased his range of shots against Ashutosh Aman, the left-arm spinner, by playing with the turn and also against the turn. This hundred from Nitish came just before the 2024 IPL season, where he accumulated 303 runs. Once again, it wasn’t just about Nitish accruing 303 runs as he accumulated them with a touch of class. Soon, the Indian think-tank drafted the all-rounder into the limited-overs set-up. Although he missed the Zimbabwe series because of a hernia problem, it was crystal clear that the coaching staff had a vision – to pick him for the tour o...
Read more

Consistent Nicholas Pooran can be world’s top T20 batter

Image
Nicholas Pooran’s carnage against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Image: IPL He has always had a calmness about him. A very West Indian relaxed kind of mindset and demeanour. And having seen adversity, he knows that one needs to celebrate and value the good that comes your way. The urge to keep getting better, and be the best version of oneself, is what defines the new Nicholas Pooran. That’s what came through in the candid conversations we had on the IPL and his own approach to batting. Not overawed by the 21-crore price tag or the weight of expectations, Pooran is simply going about his job. He knows he can hit the ball miles and is keeping it simple. Go and do what you do best for hours and hours at practice, and in doing so, help your team Lucknow Super Giants] demolish opponents. “The best part about this franchise is they have never put me under pressure,” he told me. “When you are paid a lot of money, there is always pressure. Not so much from outside but from within. You know you ne...
Read more

Turning the clock back by 0.12 seconds

Image
MS Dhoni with a stumping dismissal against MI in the IPL 2025 in Chennai (PC: BCCI) The moment of the Chennai Super Kings-Mumbai Indians match lasted less than half a second. It was the 11 th over of the MI innings. Suryakumar Yadav was bringing the batting side back in the game. Noor Ahmad beat him on a forward charge, the ball spun away, and the right-hander’s hind leg got off the ground before he planted it back. That was all MS Dhoni needed to brush the bails off. At a packed MA Chidambaram Stadium decked in yellow and chanting his name, that was the only occasion when Dhoni was in ‘action’. It showed that at 43, his reflexes have not slackened and he has got sharper in plotting dismissals. This one was replayed on TV again and again during the match and commentators couldn’t help but keep talking about it. He had conceded four byes on the leg side in the same over. But this was the Dhoni who elevated stumping to another level. When it comes to waiting for batters to err wit...
Read more